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In the morning, Emperor Kangxi summoned Yinzhen and his wife to the garden. Consort Tong was looking forward to the day when her family of six could reunite. However, bad news kept coming from the military port, and Consort Tong was filled with anxiety.
Sunlight streamed into the garden, where the twins, a boy and a girl, ran around on the cobblestones among the flowerbeds under the watchful eyes of their nannies.
"Xuan Ye, the children are the most adorable!" Consort Tong looked at the twins, and her mood gradually improved. The farce at Yuqing Palace did not affect Kangxi's mood.
"Yes, Yiken'e has become much more composed since returning. It's good that he's gained more experience outside." Kangxi was very satisfied with Yiken'e's attitude. Now, the rascal has developed some sense of responsibility.
Consort Tong glanced at Emperor Kangxi. Since Yiken'e returned, he seemed like a little adult.
"Xiao Guai and the others have done a good job teaching him!" Consort Tong shifted all the credit to Qing Yan. "Look at Hong Xi, he used to be such a good child, but he's turned out like this!"
Kangxi frowned. Hongxi had been by his side for a long time and he noticed that Hongxi was becoming increasingly petty. It seemed that the child had inherited his mother's temperament. Consort Li was not shrewd and had raised a child who was just like that.
"Li Dequan, you don't need to let Hongxi come over anymore!" Kangxi discovered that Hongxi was using spies from Yuqing Palace to plan to harm Yiken'e.
Kangxi initially didn't care about these things, but as he discovered that the methods were becoming increasingly despicable, he became extremely disgusted.
Yin was dressed in a golden dragon robe, holding hands with a red robe with wide sleeves embroidered with peonies in colorful gold thread. Underneath, he wore a pale yellow half-collar arrow-sleeved long shirt. He wore a red peony hairpin and a headdress, and each ear had three pomegranate earrings.
Following behind Yin step by step, she walked slowly. The garden of Changchun Garden was much larger than that of Yuanmingyuan Garden. Wearing three-inch-high flowerpot shoes, her legs were really tired after walking all this way.
After the ceremony, Consort Tong quickly invited the two to sit down in the pavilion, while Yin looked utterly helpless.
"Father, how have you been these past few days?" Yin rarely had the opportunity to be close to Kangxi, so he spoke with more restraint.
"Of course it's alright, tell me all about the expedition!" Kangxi didn't want to talk too much about the naval port in front of Yin, worried that Yin would overthink it.
In front of Yin, however, there was no such concern.
"Yes, Father Emperor, I think that Father-in-law did the right thing. Trying to fight abroad can bring a lot of things from there!" Fei Yanggu specifically mentioned in his secret memorial that Yin and Yin went to fight in Ryukyu and brought back a lot of things from that small island nation. Many of these things were urgently needed by the Qing Dynasty and were also things that the Qing Dynasty rarely possessed.
On the other side, Consort Tong and Qingyan learned about the twins' situation at the military port. The two children looked completely different after they returned, which made Consort Tong very happy.
"Little darling, has Fourth Prince investigated the matter of Yiken'e almost being poisoned?" Consort Tong was worried that the brothers would become enemies and hoped that Yin would not investigate.
Qingyan shook his head and said, "Master said we must not investigate, otherwise, it will bring up a lot of problems when we get back!"
The couple both knew in their hearts who would be implicated by the truth, so they could only swallow their anger. Yin repeatedly promised that he would never let Yiken suffer any more grievances in the future.
"You know what's going on in your heart, don't you?" Consort Tong noticed the resentment in Qingyan's eyes and felt a pang of sympathy. Who wouldn't feel sorry for their own son? But there was nothing anyone could do.
Qingyan nodded, her mood becoming increasingly depressed. Did Consort Tong also hope that she wouldn't pursue the matter?
“If I said I wouldn’t let you pursue the matter, you might feel resentful. However, there have been too many jokes about Yuqing Palace, which will affect the reputation of the royal family,” Consort Tong explained helplessly.
If they were in each other's shoes, Consort Tong believed she would have acted even more decisively than Qingyan. She would have fought desperately against anyone who dared to touch her son.
"Mother, I'm heartbroken. Back then, Fourth Prince had to go to Ulanara's residence to avoid smallpox because of the Crown Prince. Now, Yiken'e is hiding from Hongxi and almost got hurt and killed. Mother, I'm really not convinced. What exactly do those people want to do?!" she said resentfully.
Consort Tong remained silent, listening only to Qingyan's accusations. How could she not resent the people of Yuqing Palace?
Whenever the Crown Prince caused trouble in front of Emperor Kangxi, Kangxi would make another prince take the blame. The Crown Prince's bad temper was mostly caused by Kangxi's doting on him.
"Consort Li is in charge of the affairs of Yuqing Palace, so things are in complete chaos there." Consort Tong said with a hint of schadenfreude.
The news of the battle between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, which even forced the Crown Princess to commit suicide, has been temporarily suppressed, but those in higher positions will surely have noticed it.
"Mother, should we hide away for a while?" Qingyan asked Consort Tong with concern.
The Empress Dowager had always been thinking about how to take away the power over palace affairs, hoping to have Consort Xin replace Consort Tong in managing palace affairs.
"We definitely need to avoid it for a while, my little darling. Remember, no matter what happens in the palace, none of you should come back during the Spring Festival!" Consort Tong received Kangxi's hint and knew that there would be a series of requests for her to do after the Golden Festival and at the end of the first month.
Several princes would be involved, but Yin and Yin are in the naval port, so they should be able to avoid this kind of situation.
What? !
Qingyan found it strange that, despite the Spring Festival being such a major holiday, they were not allowed to return to the capital.
“The situation is most unstable after taking it back. Since Yin has also taken control of the navy, those ministers will definitely want to control Yin,” Consort Tong told Qingyan.
Qingyan understood that Consort Tong's advance notice was undoubtedly for the sake of the two children; otherwise, Consort Tong certainly wouldn't have said anything.
In fact, Kangxi wanted to see how his sons could adapt to changing circumstances. The twins were a variable, so he tacitly agreed to let Consort Tong and Qingyan discuss the matter in advance, giving Yinzhi some time to prepare.
The twins must not be injured at all; as for the other little princes, it's up to fate.
"Mother, I understand!" Qingyan was grateful. If Consort Tong hadn't given them the hint, they would have been caught off guard when she made her move.
"How is the naval port for the navy?!" Consort Tong was very concerned about the environment of the naval port. Tong Guogang's youngest son had also joined the navy, and he had entered the navy to participate in the selection process while hiding his identity.
"The environment is excellent, and the food, clothing, and daily necessities are all top-notch. Even the weapons are the latest firearms. Mother, Fourth Brother said that Guo Luoma's family's Na Kechu also participated!" Qingyan asked Consort Tong.
Consort Tong nodded helplessly: "Did you scare the fourth prince? Kense has been mischievous since he was a child. Just pretend you don't know anything and do as he says. Since he doesn't use the Tong family name, treat him like an ordinary person."
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